A Gift From The Spirits
by tophness
Summary: A story of how Aunt Wu got her fortunetelling abilities. Her abilities are pretty dope, so you know you want to know how she got them, am I right? Just read it.


**A/N: Hey there, hi there, ho there! ASN drabble contest entry right here! Theme: origin stories. I was giddy when the theme was announced because I love doing backstories on minor characters (just read my fic _Burglars!_) and I couldn't choose which minor character to do. Finally I chose Aunt Wu...and never wrote anything. I had the judge waiting, I literally posted in like 15 minutes, and I feel bad for my laziness. Well fret no more, say I! I wrote it in like an hour and a half this afternoon after waking up (my time for writing is getting better! Eeep!) and typed it in like...well I don't know and don't really care. I'm sure you don't either. So onward with thy story and a request for thy reader, I berate upon thee to reviewith with thy thoughts. I barely know what I just said, so review! :3**

**Disclaimer: Why do I seem to forget this sometimes? Oh that's right, because I _know_ I don't own Avatar. All sue-crazy lawyers should know that too.**

**A Gift From The Spirits**

**OoOoOoO**

Wu always knew she was a strange girl. She would see things in a different way from others her age. She would see things in a way that somehow always ended up correct, in one way or another. She didn't have many friends; her peers thought she was weird and were frightened by her "ways of seeing things." Wu was different. And that frightened them.

Wu was not put off by her ability. She was just born that way. She would spend hours on end, just staring at the clouds. Though at first, this seemed like her only normal pastime, others were quickly put off by the way she interpreted the shapes.

"Aww," her classmate would say. "That cloud looks like a fluffy bunny."

"That's bad," Wu would say immediately.

The other girls would sit up and stare at her incredulously.

"What?"

"That's absurd."

"You're crazy!"

"How do you know?"

Wu would shrug and continue to stare up at the sky. "I just know."

Wu would often stare into the fire after dinnertime with her family, trying to see what she could in the dancing flames. Occasionally, she would throw a spare bone from dinner into the fire and try to see what she could in the cracks.

A small crack would appear in the left side. She smiled. _A small problem in the coming weeks, though one I can easily handle._

Wu's mother would scold her the next morning when she would find the charred remains of bones in the ashes of the fire.

Something Wu did not understand, however, was _how_ and _why_ she was always right. She supposed her ability was a gift from the spirits; after all, the spirits are the cause of everything. She wanted to know why, though, they chose her for such a power. Such ability was a blessing, and yet, a burden. She was not ungrateful for her gift; she was glad she could have it. But there were some things she knew she would rather not know.

At 16, Wu began having strange dreams. Of course, as soon as they started, she knew they held special meaning. Every morning after one of those dreams, she would interpret was she could remember. She always felt she needed to clarify that which needed deciphering.

_A life with no significant other_…she supposed she could deal with that…_tragedy in the family_…she was not looking forward to that one…_good fortune for the village_…she sighed in relief at this…_a big change in the war far down the road of time_…she could not tell if it was a good change or bad…_a visitor in the coming days_…she was most curious about that one. She could tell from the feel of the dream that it was an important visitor, a visitor for her and her alone. She wondered if the visitor had anything to do with her gift.

Something Wu noticed, however, was that her predictions were strangely now becoming more specific. She again wondered if it had anything to do with her visitor.

Then, exactly three days after her last strange dream, Wu had another. Except, it wasn't exactly a dream. She could tell.

She was floating in the sky, yet it seemed like she was standing on something solid. In the distance, she could see mountains surrounding the scene. Clouds and mist surrounded her and she looked up to see the stars in the night sky. Before she could read them, Wu heard a voice behind her.

"Hello, Wu."

The girl quickly turned around to see a beautiful woman barely surrounded by a soft film of light. She had dark hair that contrasted with her pale skin, and was wearing an ethereal white dress that contrasted with her hair. Her soft golden eyes seemed make everything fit. Her hair and dress were billowing slightly as if there was a soft wind blowing. Wu felt no breeze.

The woman smiled. "I would ask if you know who I am and why you are here, but I suspect you do already."

Wu smiled. This was her visitor.

"You're the spirit of fate."

The spirit nodded, still smiling. "And I suppose you know why _I _am here."

Wu thought for a second. "You've brought me here to give me the full power of fortunetelling."

"That is correct, my child."

Wu frowned slightly. "I just have one question."

The spirit nodded and suspected she already knew what she was going to be asked.

"Why me?"

She was right. "We picked you, Wu, because we know. Once every century or so, there is a spirit good enough, a soul pure enough, a mind set enough in one person that we know can bare the gift of fate-seeing. That person is you. We know you can take the burden of fate-seeing and make it into a blessing. So I have come to give you your full gift."

The spirit slowly moved towards Wu and placed a hand on her heart and a kiss on her forehead. A warm feeling washed through her whole body.

"Thank you."

The spirit smiled. "No need to thank me, my child. The spirits picked you because you were the right person. It is…fate." And with that the spirit slowly started to move backwards, fading into the mist. Wu didn't want her to go.

"Wait! Can I contact you if I need help?"

"Of course." She heard the spirit's voice all around her, and yet inside her head.

"How?"

"You will know when the time comes, my child. You will know."

Wu woke up with a start. She smiled. She knew it had been real.

Later that year, Wu left her village. She traveled around the Earth Kingdom, giving shockingly accurate fortunes to all who wanted them. She permitted people to dub her "Aunt Wu," even at her late twenties. It felt fitting. She quickly made a name for herself in the Earth Kingdom. Each small village would eagerly wait for the time when Aunt Wu would grace them with her presence. They were sad when she would leave.

In her early forties, Wu knew her presence was needed permanently at a small village at the base of an active volcano. She decided to settle down, knowing it was as good a time as any to do so.

Twenty years had passed peacefully in her small village, with only minor encounters with the Fire Nation. And then it happened. She had a strange dream one night, and interpreted it immediately after waking up.

Another visitor for her. In the coming days. More than one this time. They were important as well. Important to the war. And then Wu knew.

Exactly three days later, they came. She felt his presence as he entered her village. _The Avatar_.

Wu herself was eager to give his fortune, to know how the war would turn out with him here now.

She gave him his fortune. And she was frustrated. She could not tell from her readings what the outcome of the war was. She thought about it for many nights, long after they left her village. Then a thought came to her.

_Burden, blessing, blessing, burden._

Her gift from the spirits was a burden and a blessing. And she thought, perhaps it was best if she _didn't_ have to know everything.

She was right.

**END**

**Alright, there is thy. (Stop it) Okay I'm done. Tell me what you think. Oh and for the record, I don't really think there is a spirit of fate in the show, but I wanted to personify it somehow, and what better way than spirits? X)**

**For those of you waiting for my next entry of Sexy Maiko Week, I'm sorry I'm taking so long. I'm lazy. And for those of you waiting for the first chapter of Breaking Out, I'm sorry. I'm lazy. But you'll see it eventually. Probably the Sexy Maiko before the Breaking Out. Also, I've been working on that Gyatso/Aang parenthood one-shot, so that'll come up soon, I think. Enough of the previews, and more of the reviews! Love you all. :3**


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